Chapter 20 Likes and Dislikes

Likes and Dislikes

Once dinner was finally ready, I went over to Tachibana-san and helped carry the food.

“““Itadakimasu.”””

The three of us put our hands together and began eating.

Tonight’s menu featured stir-fried vegetables, rice, miso soup, kinpira gobo, and teriyaki yellowtail. The sight of the steaming hot dishes made my appetite grow even stronger.

I started with a bite of the teriyaki yellowtail.

It was only then that I noticed Tachibana-san watching me closely as I ate. Her intense gaze made me a bit uneasy, but I took my time chewing before speaking my thoughts.

“Delicious.”

“Phew.”

As usual, my response was simple, but Tachibana-san let out a small sigh of relief.

The three of us ate together peacefully. In Kaori’s house, watching TV during dinner was strictly forbidden. Now that I thought about it, I barely watched TV at home at all. Kaori, who loved variety shows, always took over the living room whenever she wasn’t working, laughing at whatever was on.

Unlike Kaori’s house, it seemed the Tachibana family had no such rule. The experience felt strangely refreshing.

Despite being a high schooler, Tachibana-san was watching a national news program with a rather serious expression.

The program covered topics like today’s Diet budget committee meeting and a growing dispute over compensation for an accident a few months ago—nothing but bleak news.

Since I was facing away from the TV, I listened absentmindedly to the monotonous voice reading the headlines.

Unlike the engrossed Tachibana-san, Yuka-chan seemed completely uninterested and was focused solely on eating.

“Hm?”

I glanced at Yuka-chan and noticed something.

Every time she picked up food from the stir-fried vegetables, she carefully sorted through it with her chopsticks before taking a bite.

“Yu-chan, eat your green peppers too.”

I had assumed she was paying attention to the news.

Suddenly, Tachibana-san scolded Yuka-chan in a sharp tone, making both of us jolt in surprise.

Green peppers. I see. She had been picking around the vegetables, only eating the meat. Now that I thought about it, she really had been avoiding certain foods.

“…Ehh.”

“Nope. If you don’t eat properly, you won’t grow big and strong.”

“…But…”

Yuka-chan hesitated.

At her age, it wasn’t unusual to dislike certain foods. Seeing this side of the same girl who had just shown off her pro-level gaming skills was oddly endearing.

“If you keep being picky, even he’ll get mad at you, you know.”

“Huh?”

I widened my eyes in surprise as Tachibana-san suddenly dragged me into the conversation.

I never said anything like that, though.

But… if my own daughter were being picky about food and refusing to eat something, would I get mad? No, probably not. I’d just sigh and eat it for her myself. Would that make me a doting parent?

Funny thing was, I didn’t even have a daughter to begin with.

“Is that true?”

Yuka-chan turned to me and asked.

I hesitated for a moment, but then I realized the one thing I absolutely needed to avoid right now—making Tachibana-san angry.

“Yeah. I’d get mad.”

Yuka-chan let out a tiny “Mmm…” and stared down at the green peppers, locked in a silent battle with them.

After a moment, she seemed to make up her mind and popped a piece into her mouth.

“Well done. You’re such a good girl.”

Tachibana-san praised her and patted her head, though Yuka-chan’s face twisted as she struggled with the bitterness.

After dinner, the three of us played the racing game again. This time, Tachibana-san joined in, making it a three-way competition. Turns out, I was the worst at racing games.

After a while, Yuka-chan started nodding off and eventually fell asleep.

“Sorry about today. I was being selfish.”

“Don’t worry about it. Thanks for helping me study.”

“…Mm.”

With just a short nod, Tachibana-san acknowledged my words.

She carried Yuka-chan upstairs to her bedroom. While she was doing that, I started getting ready to head home.

“Hey, Saito.”

Just as I finished packing up and was about to let Tachibana-san know I was leaving, she called out to me as she returned from the bedroom.

“Do you have a moment?”

Her expression was unusually serious—it was clear she had something on her mind.

“What is it?”

“…I need some advice.”

Tachibana-san looked slightly hesitant.

It was probably something that wasn’t meant to involve me. She looked as if she had just bitten into something bitter, turning away as if she regretted having to bring it up.

“What’s wrong?”

I asked.

It might not have had anything to do with me, but after everything she’d done for me today—helping me study, making dinner—I wasn’t the type to ignore her concerns.

“…It’s about Yuka.”

“Yuka-chan?”

“Yeah.”

Tachibana-san nodded, then continued.

“How do you think I can get her to stop being so picky with food?”